Every April of each year, an obligation derived from registered legal entities in Costa Rica must be fulfilled. This obligation stems from Law 9416, the Law to Improve the Fight against Tax Fraud, which requires legal entities to keep their shareholders’ and ultimate beneficiaries’ information updated. The declaration of the Registry of Transparency and Ultimate Beneficiaries (RTBF) has been provided in previous years through the granting of a special power of attorney by the legal representative of each registered company in Costa Rica.
On March 8, 2024, through Supplement No. 50 to Gazette No. 45, Executive Decree No. 44,390-H Regulation of the RTBF was published. Article 5 of this decree establishes the following: “…In exceptional cases, duly justified, the legal representative or similar may grant a general power of attorney for the presentation of the declaration to the RTBF.” Consequently, on March 13, 2024, through Supplement No. 53 to Gazette No. 48, the resolution was published postponing the presentation of the RTBF to July 2024.
On April 19, 2024, the Administrative Contentious Court admitted the request for a provisional precautionary measure filed against the State by the Bar Association of Costa Rica, on April 16, 2024. The Court orders the State to provisionally suspend the third paragraph of Article 5 of Executive Decree No. 44,390-H Regulation of the Registry of Transparency and Ultimate Beneficiaries (RTBF), which states the following: “…In exceptional cases, duly justified, the legal representative or similar may grant a general power of attorney for the presentation of the declaration to the RTBF.”
In the request presented by the Bar Association of Costa Rica, the Court is asked to grant the provisional precautionary measure under Article 25, paragraph 1 of the Administrative Contentious Code, which provides that in extreme urgency, necessary precautionary measures can be granted without a hearing. Likewise, in said request, emphasis is placed on the contradiction between a regulatory and a legislative norm. Additionally, it is pointed out that the failure to grant the requested precautionary measure could cause irreparable harm to the economic and investment interests of all individuals administered in accordance with Articles 19, 21, 22, and 25 of the Administrative Contentious Code.
Therefore, in case it is necessary to make the RTBF declaration, it must be understood that the aforementioned paragraph is suspended, and the norms established by the legal system apply while the provisional precautionary measure is in force and until the Administrative Contentious Court can definitively resolve the precautionary request presented by the Bar Association of Costa Rica.
Asunción Quirós
CENTRAL LAW in Costa Rica